We will be diving into two private disputations by Arminius on this minisode. The first is Private Disputation 40: "On the Predestination of Believers" and Private Disputation 41: "On the Predestination of Means to the End." In these disputations Arminius presents a very Christocentric understanding of predestination and election while simultaneously showing his strong opposition to human ability without grace! Arminius is not optimistic about anthropology one bit. 

Here are the links to the disputations:

Disputation 40: http://wesley.nnu.edu/?id=4833

Disputation 41: http://wesley.nnu.edu/?id=4832

Look out for the next full episode that will drop the first week of October!

This minisode will kick off a three podcast series that will examine what Arminius had to say about the Doctrine of Predestination. Many people wrongly assume that Arminius did not hold to a Doctrine of Predestination. This is NOT true! He held strongly to the Doctrine of Predestination, but believed nothing should be taught beyond what the Scriptures had to say. In this episode we will be reading Public Disputation #15: "On Divine Predestination." In this writing Arminius does an incredible job explaining a Biblical doctrine of predestination. There will also be some commentary as we move through the disputation. 

Here is the full text to the Disputation 15:

http://wesley.nnu.edu/arminianism/the-works-of-james-arminius/volume-1/public-disputations/disputation-15-on-divine-predestination/

This episode of Remonstrance is entirely devoted to the question, "What is the will of God?" We first discuss the Calvinist understanding of the will of God to provide context for the Arminian understanding. We also look at Calvin's distinction between the decretive and prescriptive will of God. We then discuss the philosophical differences between Voluntarism and Intellectualism. It is more important than you might think. We then look at the distinction between the Antecedent and Consequent will of God that Arminius emphasized in his theological writings. We then look at the question of divine determinism and look at how Thomas C. Oden explains how God governs the world according to His will. We hope you are blessed by this episode!

Here are some links to articles we discuss:

"God's Will In Calvinism and Arminianism" by Roger E. Olson

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2014/08/gods-will-in-calvinism-and-arminianism/

"A Much Neglected Basic Choice in Theology" by Roger E. Olson

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2010/12/a-much-neglected-basic-choice-in-theology/